Ladies and Gentlemen of Beijing
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Hello to all the hardcore fans of the game! I'm Danilo Brotovic and I'm here for the Beijing
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I am a first team assistant coach, specializing in tactical training. It's an honor to join Slavin in this hotbed of history and dynamism and to be at the helm of a club with so much history and so much energy. I'm eager to get started in Beijing.
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Showing all my talents and bringing you a heavy trophy.
I started my soccer career at the youth camp of Croatian club Rijeka, and at the age of 17, I realized that my understanding of soccer often exceeded my actual performance, and I began to ask myself, "Maybe coaching is the right career for me?"
After telling my mom about this idea, she supported me without hesitation. So, I started to participate in various coaching trainings during my youth training. After 12 years, I obtained the UEFA A-level coaching qualification. This process is just like the old Chinese saying, "Read ten thousand volumes of books and travel ten thousand miles." In order to become a good coach, it is not enough to read books, but also to observe different coaches' training and matches, communicate with them, absorb their strengths, and finally form your own style.
In 2015, whilst working towards my A level coaching license, a friend invited me out of the blue to travel to London to observe Slaven Bilic coaching West Ham United in training. Not only did we observe the training, but we were also able to have a long conversation with Bilic. I was very impressed by that exchange, and in particular he was impressed by my insights into the development of soccer.
At the age of 32, I became a manager of a professional team for the first time. At that time the Croatian fourth division team hnk orijent was at the bottom of the league and they invited me to assist them. As a young coach, I decided to accept the challenge.
I have been blessed to have made the right choices at key points in my life. After becoming a head coach, I was convinced that this was my life's work. Developing daily training programs, seeing the players grow under my help, and assisting the team out of difficult situations are all deeply fulfilling.
I was addicted to the game Football Manager and I heard there are many FM players in China. This game is really fascinating. But after really becoming a manager, I realized that there is still a big difference between reality and the game world. In reality, you need to deal with all kinds of people every day and deal with problems that may arise. Most importantly, there are no do-overs in reality.
At the beginning of my tenure, I promoted many young players. I also enjoyed sharing ideas with the players during training and became friends with them. I led the team through relegation, and in the following two seasons, the team was promoted from the fourth division to the second division, where it is still competitive today.
These two years of coaching were an invaluable experience for me. Even when I came to the Premier League, I still think my most memorable game was when I guided hnk orijent to the promotion play-offs, a difficult task that we accomplished against the odds, and it was a great feeling of achievement.
My coaching performance quickly caught the attention of the Croatian media, but I was aware that I still had a lot to learn. Then came a great opportunity to learn! Coach Bilic invited me to join his coaching team. Bilic is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in Croatia, and I accepted the invitation without hesitation.
As it turns out, I made the right choice. Apart from the soccer field, Bilic also has a lot to learn from me in dealing with people. He once said, "In the soccer world, you have to pay attention to everyone's opinion. Even a junior coach at the bottom of the ladder may have a genius idea in their head."
Although our coaching in West Asia was not considered a success, I followed Bilic to another pinnacle of my life soon after - leading a Championship team to successful promotion to the Premier League. That was the temple of my heart!
I still remember staying up several nights in a row watching videos in order to study Pep Guardiola's team, marveling as I watched, "Oh my God, this is Pep Guardiola's team!" When I sat on the sidelines and realized that our opponent was actually Pep Guardiola, I had my first dream come true. He was yelling at the field from less than 10 meters away from me.
No soccer coach can fail to admire Pep Guardiola, but the only idol in my heart will always be Jose Mourinho. Because he and I have had similar professional journeys, from the moment I decided to become a professional coach, I began to intentionally study and imitate him. After the match with Tottenham, I found Mourinho and chatted with him like a little fan meeting a big star. I introduced myself to him and told him, "My dream is to be the next you."
As a professional coach, I still have a long way to go, and I need to keep my feet on the ground and take one step at a time. Now, what I have to do is to assist Coach Bilic and bring Beijing
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Build a team of champions. Before coming to China, I have watched the Beijing
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All the games of the last two seasons. What shocked me was not your technical and tactical skills or the individual abilities of the players, but from the videos of the 2019 season, I really felt the passion of the Beijing fans, and that feeling made me miss it very much, and I can't wait to fight with the fans in Beijing.
Except for soccer, everything about China is a delight to me. To be honest, when I was in Europe, I saw negative comments about China in some media. But when I really came here, I realized that the reality is totally different from what they said. China is a rich and modern country where people are happy and friendly.
My mom used to watch some videos about China about the idyllic life of a little girl in the countryside, and her videos were very popular in Europe. My mom then asked me if all Chinese people live like this. I smiled and told her that Chinese people live a modern and happy life. When the epidemic is over, I hope to bring my family here to experience it for themselves.
The new season is about to start and I can't wait to meet you all.
